Board of Advisors

Members of the American Humanist Association Board of Advisors work closely with the Board of Directors and AHA staff to offer expert advice on the organization’s projects and issues related to humanism. Advisory Board members have a long history with the AHA and are committed to the organization’s growth and success.

Lou Appignani (Miami, FL) is an entrepreneur and currently serves as chairman of LouJA Realty, Inc. He is the founder of the Appignani Humanist Legal Center in Washington DC and the Appignani Bioethics Center in New York, both adjuncts of the American Humanist Association. He previously founded and chaired Computer Education Inc. and Barbizon International Modeling School until 2000. He established the Louis J. Appignani Foundation in 2001 to “support secular activities that will address significant, viable and long term human goals on our planet.” Lou sponsors the Louis J. Appignani Foundation Lecture Series on Science, Reason and Secular Ethics though the Department of Philosophy at the University of Miami, which brings scholars in the field of ethics and reason for lectures, symposia, and discussions. Lou graduated from the Baruch School in New York City and earned an M.S. degree from Columbia University in finance.

Carl Coon (Washington, DC) is a former vice president of the American Humanist Association and a retired diplomat with an abiding interest in foreign lands and peoples. He graduated from Harvard University in 1949 and joined the U.S. Foreign Service, serving mostly in the Middle East and South Asia. He served as the United States Ambassador to Nepal from 1981 to 1984. He retired in 1985 and has traveled widely since. Carl is the author of One Planet, One People: Beyond ‘Us vs. Them’, published in 2007 by Prometheus Books.

Charles Debrovner (New York, NY) serves as associate director of the Appignani Bioethics Center and is a former board member of the American Humanist Association. He joined the New York Society for Ethical Culture in 1984 and served as president for seven years. He also served as president of the Humanist Institute for twelve years and remains on its executive committee. Chuck retired after 43 years of practicing gynecology with a special interest in human reproduction and infertility. He’s a graduate of Yale University and received his M.D. degree at New York University’s School of Medicine. His wife, Pat, is an adjunct leader at the New York Society for Ethical Culture and a Humanist Celebrant.

Fred Edwords (Greenbelt, MD) began his humanist activism in 1977 as vice president of the Humanist Association of San Diego. He became president the next year, expanded his reach as American Humanist Association West Coast regional coordinator in 1979 and became national administrator for the organization in 1980. He then served for fifteen years as AHA executive director and twelve years as editor of the Humanist magazine. Since 2009 he has been a management and PR consultant to the AHA while serving as national director of the United Coalition of Reason, an organization that promotes local cooperation among humanist and freethought groups in cities across the United States.

Larry Jones (Albany, NY) is the founder of the Institute for Humanist Studies, which recently joined forces with the American Humanist Association and will continue as the first humanist think tank in Washington DC. He serves as first vice-president of the International Humanist and Ethical Union and represents the IHEU as the non-governmental organization delegate to the United Nations. He’s a former board member of the National Philanthropic Trust, the Center for Inquiry, and the American Humanist Association. He worked for General Electric as a chemist and currently serves on the board of National Securities Corporation, an investment company.

Jennifer Kalmanson (Laurel, MD) is a senior principal engineer at Orbital Sciences, where she provides system engineering support to the Hubble Space Telescope servicing Mission 4. She previously supported Orbital’s Jet Propulsion Lab’s Dawn mission to the asteroid belt and supported a Phase A study at Goddard, designing a mission to fly humankind’s first operational solar sail. She is a board member and chapter coordinator of the Washington Area Secular Humanists-DC Chapter and a Humanist Celebrant.

Woody Kaplan (Boston, MA) is a full-time political and civil liberties activist. He is president of the Defending Dissent Foundation, chairs the Civil Liberties List (a political action committee), and serves on the advisory boards of the Secular Student Alliance, the Secular Coalition for America, the Godless Americans Political Action Committee, and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. He is a former member of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Board of Directors and chair of the of the ACLU Foundation of Massachusetts. He spent 25 years developing regional shopping centers and is CEO of The Kaplan Group, Inc.

Pritpal Kochhar (New York, NY) is the founder of the Kochhar Humanist Education Center with an ambitious agenda to infuse the philosophy of humanism in all corners of the world. He is a real estate developer and owner of PSK, Inc., a full service firm involved in the acquisition, development, and management of primarily residential property in New York City. Before being an entrepreneur, he was an investment banker in international corporate finance, having worked at Citicorp Investment Bank and Goldman, Sachs & Company. His prior work experience includes corporations such as Mobil Oil, ADP, and IBM. He graduated from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business with an MBA in Finance and Accounting, received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, and an M.S. in Statistics and Operations Research from the Indian Statistical Institute. He is also a founding member of the Sierra Club India Advisory Council, of the Manhattan Sikh Association, and of his family’s MBSK Foundation.

Jim Lampl (Sarasota, FL) is semi-retired after serving as conservation director for Giant Eagle Supermarkets in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is currently involved in environmental consulting and solar energy investing. He is an active, local supporter of Planned Parenthood, Green Building, Bike Advocates, and Sarasota Citizens for Responsible Government. He graduated from Colorado State University in 1975 with a degree in Conservation. His hot button issues include church/state separation and domestic and marriage rights.

Sue Reamer (Chestnut Hill, MA), a retired nursing instructor and nursing home administrator, now enjoys meaningful volunteer involvements focused on humanism, lifelong learning, and successful aging. Almost every day, Sue has the pleasure of babysitting her two small grandchildren who live only ten minutes from her home. She enjoys entertaining in her home and conversing with dear friends and fellow humanists over small informal dinners. What minutes remain in her lively weeks, she jogs, reads and gardens. It’s no wonder that she considers herself a lifelong learner: she has a B.S. in microbiology from the University of Chicago, a B.S. in nursing from Columbia Presbyterian School of Nursing, an M.Ed. from Columbia Teachers College, an M.B. A. with honors from Boston University, and a Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems from The Fielding Institute.

Harold L. Saferstein (Scottsdale, AZ) received his M.D. from the University of Illinois in 1958 and completed his dermatology training at Temple University in Philadelphia in 1965. He married Doreen Kaufman in 1960, and they lived in Wheeling, West Virginia for 30 years where he practiced dermatology, was active in the Jewish community and raised three sons. He retired in 1993 and moved to Scottsdale, Arizona. He discovered humanism in 1998 and has been active in the Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix and numerous national freethought organizations.

Todd Stiefel (Raleigh, NC) graduated cum laude from Duke University. He worked 12 years for Stiefel Laboratories, holding positions in marketing, sales operations and strategy. He was the Chief Strategy Officer, the Enterprise Leadership Team chairman and member of the executive committee of the Board. Todd is a secular humanist and full-time freethought activist. He is the Founder and President of the Stiefel Freethought Foundation. Todd is a trustee of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. He serves on the development committees of Secular Coalition for America and American Atheists and advisory boards of Secular Coalition for America, Secular Student Alliance and Atheist Nexus. Todd is a consultant for United Coalition of Reason. He is a member of the board of the Triangle Freethought Society. He serves on the National Advisory Council (NAC) of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.